Part 7 (2/2)
”They'll be mining a few days at most, ” said Jaklin, frowning. ”I don't see that it's needful. There's such a thing as being too trusting, Rikkard. ”
”Every man is different under the ground, ” said Teeb Rikkard. ”No man sickens the same. You know that. It would be wrong not to.
Gone three years from Lantech, Jaklin. Gone soft, they'll be. I won't have them on my conscience. ”
”But Rikkard, it's secret, ” she protested. ”It's ours. ”
”And if they're living with us it has to be theirs, too, ” he said gently. ”No man or woman or child of Torbel remains in Torbel without it. This is our village rule. ”
”They are not of our village!”
33.Sighing, Teeb Rikkard took hold of the Teeba's shoulder. ”They are until they leave, Jaklin. I'm the head miner. It's my final word. ”
And apparently Teeba Jaklin took that argument seriously, because she closed her eyes, and sighed, and nodded. ”You are the head miner, ” she muttered, unhappy but acquiescent. ”They'll have it. ”
Judging it safe to speak, Obi-Wan cleared his throat. ”I'm sorry? My cousin and I will have what?”
Casting him a dark look, Teeba Jaklin got up from the table, went to one of the kitchen cupboards and from it withdrew a stoppered clay pot.
”This is a secret, Teeb Yavid, ” she said, returning. ”It has been a secret for untold generations. It's not only mineral quality that brings the government to us first, and has it rewarding us with extra food and leaving us alone. ”
She unstoppered the pot, carefully tipped two large yellowish brown pills onto the palm of one hand and held them out.
”It's because we work and we work and we don't hardly get greensick. No other mining village in Lanteeb can claim that. They don't know our secret. Not Chukba, not Endvo, not Dee- bin, not even Trahn. It has always been for Torbel and no one else. If ever you speak of this to anyone not from our village, you will ruin us. There are desperate miners who'd kill for our secret. Do you understand that?”
”Teeba Jaklin... ”
Obi-Wan stood. Anakin, watching him, wondered how the two Lanteebans could have no idea that a Jedi, one of the greatest ever born, was standing right in front of them.
”Your trust won't be misplaced. ” Obi-Wan's voice was quiet and thrumming with absolute sincerity. ”Turned away from your village, Markl and I might have perished. I promise your secret is safe with us. ”
Anakin pushed his own chair back. ”My cousin Yavid is the most honorable man I know. Never have I seen him do wrong, or harm.
Your secret is safe. ”
Teeba Jaklin turned to Teeb Rikkard. ”I just hope you're right and there'll be no regretting, and no way to take it back. ”
Obi-Wan rolled the pill she handed him between his thumb and forefinger. ”What's in this?”
”You don't need to know, ” said Rikkard. ”Swallow it and mine. Don't swallow it and leave. The choice is yours, Teebs. But choose quickly. We've a quota to fill. ”
Staring at his own pill, Anakin reached into the Force. He could sense no deception in either villager. It was highly unlikely this was an elaborate plot to poison them. He glanced at Obi-Wan. Raised an eyebrow. The look Obi-Wan gave him was as loud as a shout.
Me first.
He wanted to argue. One of these days you'll have to stop protecting me. But he let it go, just this once. Watched Obi-Wan swallow the pill. When nothing happened, he swallowed his own. It tasted worse than the eggs.
Teeb Rikkard stood. ”Come with me then, Teebs, since you've made your choice. The morning's getting away from us. It's time to start work. ”
CHAPTER FIVE.
Following Teeb Rikkard out of Teeba Jaklin's cottage and into the empty street, Obi-Wan sank himself a little more deeply into the Force and reached out to touch the man's worried, vulnerable mind. Mired in the difficulties of keeping a dying village alive, of smiling and smiling while his heart cracked with despair, Rikkard never noticed the stranger rummaging through his private emotions.
”Teeb Rikkard, you've a fine village here, ” he said quietly. ”You and Teeba Jaklin are to be admired for your stewards.h.i.+p of it. My cousin and I would like a wander through Torbel's streets before we bury ourselves underground in the mine. I think you can give us an hour or so to do that, can't you?”
Teeb Rikkard slowed, then stopped. ”Well-yes. Yes, I can, ” he said, uncertain. ”I can show you around myself if...”
34.”No, no. That's quite all right. ” Keenly aware that they were standing in the middle of an open street, that at any moment they could be joined by other villagers, he pushed Rikkard harder. ”It's our own way we'll be finding, Teeb. ”
”No need for Teeb, ” Rikkard said. ”You're one of us now, Yavid. ” The faintest cloud of confusion shadowed his eyes. ”An hour and more to wander. I'm not sure I can...”
Stang. The man's sense of responsibility was proving a real stumbling block. With no time for finesse Obi-Wan clamped tight his hold on Rikkard's mind. ”No, you're quite sure. You're more than happy for us to look around. And we have your express permission to take as long as we need and see anything we wish. ”
Rikkard shook his head, feeling the compulsion, unsettled by it, but unable to resist. ”Yes. Yes. Of course, Yavid. Anything. ”
”We'd very much like to see your comm hub, Rikkard, ” Anakin added, stepping closer. ”Where would we find it?”
”The comm hub? That's in the charter house. ” Turning, Rikkard pointed down the street toward the small village's center. ”On the square. ” Another puzzled head shake. ”It's where we decide village things. Why do you...”
Obi-Wan clasped the man's arm, reinforcing his control. ”Thank you, Rikkard. You're a good fellow. Now please, don't let us delay you any further. ”
”I'll be on my way, ” Rikkard murmured. ”Come to the mine when you're ready, Yavid. You and your cousin will be expected. ”
”Think that'll hold?” said Anakin, as they watched Rikkard walk away down the narrow, baked-dirt street with its patches of worn-away ferrocrete. As he pa.s.sed the other cottages, doors opened and he was joined by villagers heading out to spend the day hewing raw damot.i.te from deep underground. They stared at the two strangers, but whatever Rikkard told the men and women seemed enough to satisfy, at least for now.
”If it doesn't hold, things could get a bit awkward, ” Obi-Wan said, frowning. Rikkard was a genuinely good man, undeserving of such interference. But I don't have the luxury of being squeamish. ”So we must hope for the best. Now let's get to that comm hub. The sooner Yoda knows what's going on, the sooner we can stop Durd. ”
They collected more curious, not entirely friendly looks as they made their way to the village square. Every instinct screamed run, but they couldn't. They couldn't even walk fast. It was vital they do nothing to arouse the villagers' suspicions. Instead they sauntered, not a care in the world, nodding and smiling at the faces staring at them from unshuttered windows and open front doors. As they caught up to, then pa.s.sed, more miners on their way to work they greeted the men and women with expansive geniality. Startled, the miners exchanged glances but returned the greeting cordially enough. Though their ages ranged from middle teens to middle life, the look in every villager's eyes was the same: a sad, bone-deep weariness.
”Stang, ” Anakin muttered, once it was safe to speak. ”I haven't felt a place this beaten down since Tatooine. ”
Wonderful, Obi-Wan thought. The last thing he needed was Anakin brooding on his miserable, Force-forsaken childhood home. ”It's true these people are faced with a bleak future, but there's nothing we can do to save them right now. Tell me, those pills Jaklin gave us. What do you think, genuine or placebo?”
Anakin pulled a face. ”I think they taste worse than her eggs. ”
”The eggs weren't so bad, ” he said. ”Trust me, I've had worse. ”
”Really?” said Anakin, skeptical. ”Anyway. I think placebo. This isn't the only working mine on Lanteeb, and it would be if you needed those pills to handle raw damot.i.te safely. And there wasn't anything about them in Agent Varrak's briefing notes, or Fhernan's data, either. ”
”Perhaps, ” Obi-Wan said, after a moment. ”But even if Jaklin's claims are exaggerated, we should keep taking her pills. We can't afford to offend these people. Not while we need to shelter here. ”
”Which hopefully won't be for long, ” Anakin muttered. ”I want back in the fight. We've been stuck on the sidelines too long. ”
He couldn't argue with that, but even so... ”Patience, cousin. We must proceed with caution. One misstep and Rikkard or Jaklin could report us to the authorities. ”
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